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Disclosure !!!

"Now we know..."

- John Micklethwait & Adrian Woolridge
in Witch Doctors

Forget about that passionate speech from B-School faculty about disclosures (or rather the lack of it) by Indian corporate. Forget about those case studies or impassioned write-ups in newspapers urging industry to move towards GAPP or SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission) disclosures. Probably, it is the B-school itself which needs to search for skeletons in its cupboards and disclose a lot to its stakeholders, i.e., admission seekers, recruiters, students and alumni.

Sometimes, what they teach you at B-schools may be different from what they practice.

When it comes to transparency & sharing information with stakeholders, Indian B-schools' press releases are like balance-sheets of Enron, hiding more than they reveal.

For example, try to compare placement data related to top B-schools in India & abroad. If you are curious about Post-MBA salary at any Ivy League B-school, all one needs to do is to log on to any USA B-schools' website and presto! You will get comprehensive data related to placements. But back home, things might be tough as most of Indian B-schools' web sites carry little data related to placements, and if all they do carry, the data is beyond comprehension for average MBA aspirants. Many of the B-schools approached by CoolAvenues.com refused to give data for "confidentiality" reasons!!! And whatever was presented was a case of too little after much perseverance. So much so for teaching "Corporate Disclosures & Ethics" at B-schools!

One look at the admission process and one understands that veil of secrecy starts from here onwards. Students who pass out from IIMs are almost clueless about their CAT score, and questions as to why they ended in C or L always remain unanswered. Even weightages assigned to various aspects of overall admission process remain only guesswork. And if you do not get through CAT, you would never know why you didn't make it.

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